As pre-order culture swells, Monster Hunter Wilds reminds players the upcoming beta really is free: "No pre-order is needed to play!"
Oct. 27, 2024The only pre-order bonuses here are some exclusive cosmetics
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Pre-order bonuses nowadays aren’t quite as aggressive as they used to be - anyone rememberthe silly Deus Ex: Mankind Divided tiers? - but everything from exclusive cosmetics to early access entry are still used to lure excited players into buying the game before release. So, theMonster Hunter Wildsteam has had to remind folks once again that, yes, the upcoming beta is really, really free.
Capcomhad already announced that its upcomingMonster Hunter Wilds betawouldn’t be paywalled behind pre-orders, but it seems like not enough people got the memo, and I wouldn’t blame them since even the likes of this year’s Concord and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 had betas exclusively for pre-orderers.
“Hunters, we’ve seen some comments wondering if you need to have pre-ordered Monster Hunter Wilds to access the Open Beta Test,” the game’s social media accounttweeted. “The answer is no, no pre-order is needed to play! However, if you’d like to pre-order after playing the Open Beta Test, that’d be cool!” Probably the most polite pre-order request I’ve ever seen.
That open beta will be available to everyone on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC starting from October 31 until November 3 - check out thefull details here- and PlayStation Plus subscribers get to enjoy the test a little early on PS5 as the beta will go live tomorrow on October 28 at 8pm PT / October 29 at 3am GMT.
If you’d like to pre-order the big-beast-basher anyway, Capcom has thrown some goodies into the mix. None of the extras are, ahem, wild enough to place amongthe most baffling pre-order bonuses ever, but an exclusive armor cosmetic and an in-game talisman are nice enough.
After 10 years, Monster Hunter Wilds will expand on one of the coolest and rarest monster types in the series.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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